£25,000 for Dermatologist Removing Wrong Facial Mole

£25,000 for Dermatologist Removing Wrong Facial Mole

15th January 2025 – Our client Ms C had a longstanding problem with superficial skin moles and was placed on a regular regime of inspection and monitoring of these by her GP.

In May 2023 a potentially suspicious mole on her nose was referred to an in house dermatologist at the Estuary View Medical Clinic in Whitstable. They indicated that the mole was capable of turning into a malignant growth and should be removed.

An appointment for a punch biopsy procedure to permanently remove the mole.

At that appointment, the nose area was anaesthetised with the mole marked for removal and biopsied. The procedure was undertaken very quickly with the mole then sent to the hospital for histological testing.

Back at home after the procedure our client was able to examine her nose and it was obvious to her that there had been an error. Incredibly, the dermatologist had managed to biopsy the incorrect mole. Instead of removing he intended mole which was in a relatively inconspicuous area the biopsy had been performed near the tip of the nose on a different mole that was not problematic.
Ms. C complained to the practice.

At first the response from the Practice and the dermatologist was that the mole biopsied may not have been the correct one but that this mole had the capability of turning malignant too, so it may as well have been removed as it would save doing it later. However, once the histology had returned from the hospital, it was clear that the mole was completely harmless and was highly unlikely to ever be a problem.

Ms C instructed Fairweathers to bring an action in clinical negligence.

We instructed an expert dermatologist who was highly critical of the dermatologist highlighting several concerns and breaches of duty.

A Letter of Claim was sent which yielded an initial offer of £4,000.00.

That offer was quickly rejected and Fairweathers Solicitors instructed a Plastic Surgeon to report on the injury. That report indicated the extent of the injury and the fact it was likely to have caused permanent scarring.

A series of offers and counter offers subsequently took place between the parties and the matter concluded prior to court action for £25,000.00 in compensation.

Speaking about the claim Mr Balmforth, Consultant Solicitor for Fairweather Solicitors LLP commented “Whilst the injury here seems small, the fact that it was on the face of Ms. C and that it was visible to her every day has played a big part in assessing the compensation”.

Moving forward, the compensation awarded will allow Ms.C to disguise the extent of the injury using cosmetics. It is a notable point that she has subsequently, taken further expert advice on the mole that should have been biopsied and it is in fact completely harmless. There was therefore, no good reason to perform a biopsy the area at all. It remains, however, under regular review.

Ms. C now hopes that the action brought will change the way that these biopsies are performed to make it safer for other patients in the future.

If you or your family need the assistance of our experienced specialist team of Clinical Negligence Solicitors then please submit your case details for our consideration.

You gave encouragement / confidence and were both friendly and professional – and you listened. (Mrs C, Deal)

Alex Tengroth was very good. I was very pleased. (Mrs Y, Broadstairs)